XXII 
THE DEER 
213 
against the protection of game in England. The 
value of a deer-forest in Scotland is many times 
superior to the annual rental for sheep pasturage. 
It is absurd to complain that the poor have not the 
same privilege as the rich ; nobody, unless a pro¬ 
fessional agitator, envies the rich man his harmless 
enjoyments, and the fact of wealth being introduced 
into the wild Highlands brings comfort and employ¬ 
ment to many who would otherwise seek their 
livelihood on foreign shores. 
Nothing can be more enjoyable than deer-stalk¬ 
ing in the Highlands. In olden times, when people 
shot with muzzle-loading rifles and small charges of 
powder, the shooting was more difficult than in the 
present day, as the trajectory of the bullet being 
high, it was necessary to judge the distance 
accurately, to adjust the back-sights of the rifle. 
The improvements within the last twenty years have 
produced the perfection of weapons for deer-stalking 
in Scotland, as the trajectory of the modern Express 
is so low that no elevation is required for 150 yards. 
Practically no other sight is required beyond that of 
point-blank. 
I mentioned in the commencement of this work, 
the name of Purdey as the first inventor of the 
muzzle-loading Express. This was then called No. 
70, as that number of spherical bullets weighed 1 lb. 
In those days there were no decimals of the inch to 
designate the size of a bore, but the relative pro¬ 
portion to the pound was always understood by the 
number of the calibre. 
